Il castello di Serralunga d’Alba, in the province of Cuneo, is today considered one of the best-preserved examples of a 14th-century noble castle in Piedmont. Located on the ridge of the hill, it overlooks the village situated at 415 meters above sea level, dominating the characteristic village and its famous vineyards, in one of the most interesting and fast-growing tourist areas of the region.
The ancient manor is an indelible symbol of this landscape, immediately striking for the slenderness and verticality of its Gothic architecture. In the 12th century – when the descendants of Bonifacio del Vasto, Bonifacio Minore, and Ottone del Carretto, were the lords of the place – a tower overlooked and defended the village. After being purchased in 1190 by Manfredo di Saluzzo, the fiefdom passed to the Falletti of Barolo, an important noble family of the Langhe: in 1340 Petrino Falletti had the tower demolished, which made way for the current castle.
Since its construction, very few alterations have been made to the building; it did not suffer major military events and was never converted into a holiday residence, thus maintaining the structure of a medieval fortress unchanged. The castle served, more than a military role, a function of controlling local productive activities, as its very structure shows, extremely slender and intended to emphasize in this way the prestige of the Falletti family. A unique case in the Italian territory of a donjon in the French style, it consists of several parts, including the Palacium, a compact and elongated block made up of large superimposed halls, a cylindrical tower that presents the most innovative features of 14th-century military architecture, a square tower, and a chapel, a small room with a barrel vault and frescoes dating to the mid-15th century depicting the Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Inside, some large fireplaces and wooden ceilings are the only remaining evidence of the original furnishings.
The castle was purchased by the State in 1949; at that time, the first important restoration works were started. Since 2015 it has been under the management of the Polo Museale del Piemonte.
Information about Castello di Serralunga d’Alba
Via del Castello, 1
12050 Serralunga d’Alba (Cuneo)
0173 613358
info@castellodiserralunga.it
https://www.polomusealepiemonte.beniculturali.it
Source: MIBACT
